The approach to select new growing media, has been focused on selecting materials only from the physical point of view. The objective of this study was to describe the physiological mechanisms involved in I. wallerana growth when cropped on a broad range of growing media created from alternative components. Results showed a close relationship between I. wallerana Downloaded by [New York University] at 12:39 25 May 2015 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 growth and fine particle size at the beginning of the experiments. Shoot fresh weight was determined mainly by the root system size. There were small differences in the relative growth rate (RGR) between the control substrate and the thirty alternative substrates tested. The lower RGR values resulted from a decrease in the net assimilation rate and the leaf area ratio. The mechanism involved would be associated with a change in photosynthate partitioning, which favored root growth. A close relationship between growth (as total dry weight) and nitrogen content was found as well.

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